STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 263 



rising — the temperature and treatment of the cream before it is 

 churned — the temperature of cream when it is chm-ned — the 

 churning and tlie working and salting of the butter — all have a 

 very important influence in making excellent butter. Where 

 pro2:)er regard is not paid to the circumstances and causes which 

 have a very important influence in making butter, the product 

 will often be an unctuous comuound, but little better than good 

 soap grease. Making butter, for the most part, is a chemical 

 process; some parts are purely mechanical. 



Milk. — The milk of cows is composed of three distinct ingre- 

 dients : the curd^ the whey and the butter. The union of these 

 ingredients is not chemical, but a inechanical union. The curd is 

 the heaviest part of the milk, and the butter the lightest; conse- 

 quently, when the milk is allowed to stand undisturbed, for a 

 short time, the butter begins to rise to the surface, in the form 

 of cream. As soon as the milk is drawn from the cow, the 

 atmosphere begins to affect it, more or less, according to its tem- 

 perature. The milk is strained into shallow vessels, which are 

 better tlian deep vessels, and allowed to stand undistui-bed, until 

 the cream has all risen to the surface. On account of the changes, 

 produced by the different states of the atmosphere, it is impossi- 

 ble to lay down a rule, to regulate the length of time that milk 

 should stand, before the cream is taken off' from the milk. In 

 order to have the cream rise well, the milk should be set in a 

 cool and airy place, where the temperature is not too high, nor 

 too low, and where it is not exposed to an atmosphere too highly 

 charged with aqueous vapor. The judicious butter-maker will 

 be able to discern, by the appearance of the cream, when it has 

 stood long enough; and, as soon as it has reached that point, the 

 cream should be taken off*, without any delay. There is a point 

 when the cream ceases to rise; and sometimes the chemical 

 changes take place so rapidly, at such j)oints, that every moment 

 whicli the milk is allowed to staiul witli tlie cream on, greatly 

 affects the quality and quantity of butter, wliich is contained in a 

 giv»'n quantity of milk. 



After the cream is skimmed from tlic milk, it sliould be kept 

 in a cool {>lace, in a vessel which has a cover fitting tiglit, in 

 order to exclude tlie air as much as possible. If left in an open 

 vessel, with a broad surface, mucli of the cream will be iryured 



